Snapped
by MoonlightDemoness
Summary: Naru's mind snaps and she leaves the village, only relying on her instincts.She runs into Team Hebi in her feral state where Sasuke finds her and decides to help her. REWRITTEN
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, if none of you read my profile, then none of you realized I had gotten a virus on my laptop. I didn't have a jump drive for my stories like I do now but I was reviewing this one and decided to rewrite it because I thought the chapters were a little short. I'm going to do this to all of my stories and yes, for this one it's pretty much combining chapters. I'll have the rest done before the end of the week.**

Naru ran through the trees a few miles outside of Konoha, her home now the very place she is running from. Only this wasn't exactly Naru. Yes, she was wearing the same black capris with an orange stripe down the side, the same dark orange short sleeve shirt with a black jacket, and the same long blond hair. The problem is that her mind snapped after almost being raped by Sai, a person she had grown to trust. As long as she was in this state she was relying on her instincts which were enhanced thanks to the fox. Right now her instincts were telling her to run and get away from people as quickly as possible.

She had already escaped the village and retreated so far into herself that she was unconsciously drawing on the fox's chakra. Her features had changed to the crimson slitted eyes, fangs, and deeper whisker marks. She has no idea where she is going but she knows that it is far from the village.

Naru growled as her sensitive ears picked out the sound of multiple footsteps following her. She fell to all fours to increase her speed and escape her pursuers as she fell even deeper into herself. The need to survive outweighing anything and anyone else.

Her enhanced eyes could see the details of everything in front of her, from the branches on the trees to every bird and animal. She knew she needed to get away from the place far behind her that has caused her pain, but something was pulling her in this direction even though she knew something would eventually cross her path. She felt a tug in her chest every time she changed direction. Whatever or whoever her instincts were leading her to would help her, that much she could gather and recognize in her scattered thoughts.

XxXxX

The entire Rookie Nine and Gai's team, minus Sai, cursed as they sensed Naru's chakra get further away, whether is was out loud or in the privacy of their own minds did not matter.

When the news of what Sai tried to do to Naru reached them, they were ready to kill him. The only reason they didn't was because of Tsunade, though she was restraining herself, too. What confused them though was why Naru left the village. It was her home and she knew any one of them would have helped her and protected her. Screw the council. They cared more for their blond friend than for the will of blind, prejudiced, old flesh bags. They were, that is, until Lady Tsunade explained.

_Flashback_

"_Tsunade-sama, why did Naru leave the village? If something like this happened to me, I wouldn't leave and we all know how much Naru loves this place. She wouldn't leave without anyone knowing where she was going, first."_

_Tsundae sighed as everyone turned to her, waiting for the answer to Sakura's question. What she had to say wasn't pleasant and Naru was reluctant in revealing these facts even to her. The only reason she had was in case something finally happened that threw her over the edge._

"_Because of the Kyuubi, Naru's baser instincts are amplified, much like the Inuzuka's or Hatake's. The only way for her to have left the village so suddenly was if her mind snapped and she retreated inside herself, letting her instincts rule her mind and body. The incident with Sai most likely was the catalyst that made her snap. She would have been driven to leave out of fear for her own survival and her instincts told her to get away from large groups of people." She waited for that to sink in before continuing. "That is what makes retrieving her difficult. She won't recognize any of you. Do not try talking her back to her senses because it won't work. She will run or attack depending on if she deems you a threat and how much of a threat you might be. Pack for anything on this mission, she is unpredictable. We don't know where she will go or how hard she will fight back. Accomplish this mission by any means. Fight her, trap her, do not be afraid to hurt her if need be, but do not do anything that could kill her."_

_A chorus of "hai's" went around the room as all the ninja present left to pack. All with different thoughts revolving around a certain blond._

_End Flashback_

They all had varying reactions to that explanation. Those who understood what would need to be done to an individual for their mind to break this much were close to breaking down. A lot can be done to a person but the body can heal from almost anything. The amount of mental and emotional trauma that had to have happened to her to cause her to snap, even with the extra mental protection provided by the fox...The imagination can make reality much, much worse than the truth but what they were afraid of was if their thoughts weren't so far from the truth. Thirteen years of Naru's life was spent alone, anything could have happened.

Those who didn't know what it would take for a mind to snap were more focused on packing clothes, weapons, food, anything to keep their minds from wondering or their bodies to take a stroll and 'accidentally' run into Sai. Doing menial tasks to keep their hands occupied or taking comfort in the embrace of friends, loved ones, and family to provide comfort while they worried over the fate of their friend.

When it was time to go, no one was late, not even Kakashi. Anyone who had skills with tracking took the head of the group and fanned out to pick up her trail. When it was found, they were off.

They had followed her trail out of fire country and then it zig-zagged in random directions but always went in the same general direction. They had just gotten close enough to feel her chakra but she must have known because they lost her soon after.

A few hours after that, they couldn't get close enough again. They didn't have the stamina or endurance that she had and most of them were starting to lag behind.

"Okay everybody, we are all exhausted and won't be a match for her like this. Let's stop and rest. We'll catch up to her later." Kakashi said reluctantly.

Yamato immediately went to work creating a building and everyone reluctantly went inside. They divided into rooms and set their stuff down before heading back to the main room.

"How could Naru move so fast that she could out run all of us? I mean even with her stamina, she shouldn't be able to stay so far ahead." Kiba said with Akamaru barking in agreement.

The older jonin glanced at each other which went unnoticed by everyone except Neji and Shikamaru.

"Do you have any idea's as to why that is, Kakashi-sempai?" Neji asked.

Everyone went quiet and looked at the one-eyed ninja. Kakashi sighed.

"Tsunade-sama said Naru's _mind_ snapped. Who is always inside her mind?"

Kakashi nodded at the gasps everyone released. "Yamato and I have an idea that the further she retreats into her mind, the easier it is to draw on the Kyuubi's power. That is the only explanation we have for her increased speed."

"How will we help her?" Ino asked. With her own experience with the human mind, she knew it was difficult to heal.

"It would take either a few sessions with Tsunade and Inoichi or an Uchiha going into her mind and slowly drawing her back out, bringing her back and helping to heal the mind."

Sakura looked out of the house and into the forest. "I just hope we find her before anyone else."

Everyone agreed.

XxXxx

Juugo sighed from his place at the base of a tree. Suigetsu and Karin were screaming insults at each other again and Sasuke was up in a tree above him. It had been about two weeks since Sasuke had gathered them all up and it was mostly filled with Karin flirting with Sasuke, Sasuke ignoring Karin, and Karin and Suigetsu fighting. Speaking of which...

"You're a Sasuke obsessed slut! 'Oh Sasuke will you please fuck me until I'm pregnant with your baby and you're forced to stay with me?' Ha! As if he would want an ugly, red-headed bimbo like you!"

"That's so not true! Sasuke-kun wants me! Unlike you who has probably never been with anyone!"

"Bitch!"

"Fag!"

"Slut!"

"Retard!"

"Whore!"

"Cock sucking, mother fucking, son-of-a-bitch!"

"I know you spread your legs for Orochimaru and Kabuto at the same time! It was hard not to hear the screams and moans. Other prisoners even talked about getting in the sack with you."

"You bastard!" Karin jumped at Suigetsu but only got in a few punches on his face, now made of water, before her head snapped up and to the right. "Sasuke, someone's coming towards us and fast!"

In a flash, Team Hebi's leader was standing with them and everybody was up and prepared for fight or flight. "How many?" Sasuke asked.

"One."

Suigetsu snorted and hefted his sword over his shoulder. "Just one? Too easy."

"No, wait..." Karin frowned as she focused on the chakra. "There's something up with this persons chakra. For one, it's huge, but it keeps fluctuating and part of it feels...demonic. It's about three minutes away and closing in fast."

"So, what should we do?" Suigetsu asked.

Everyone looked to Sasuke and saw him looking in the direction Karin had indicated. Juugo was sure there was something in his expression but it was hard to put a name to it. He had never seen that look in his leader's eyes. Anticipation maybe? "We stay. If it is who I think it is, I will confront them myself."

When he finished speaking everyone was standing, weapons at the ready, looking in the direction the unknown ninja was coming from. A few seconds later a figure landed on a tree branch but when it saw them it immediately tensed and a growl came from the person as they slowly backed away.

Team Hebi stared at the feral girl crouched in the tree, but it was Sasuke who moved. He took a step toward her and quirked an eyebrow when her lip pulled back in a snarl. Sensing something was up with his former teammate Sasuke activated his sharingan and stepped forward once more.

No one noticed the widening of Juugo's eyes or the pity and empathy that filled them as he relaxed his stance.

This time instead of snarling or growling, Sasuke watched Naru's red eyes zero in on his before quickly moving to the trees on the other side of the clearing. Already guessing what she was going to do Sasuke ordered his team to stay in the clearing when Naru shot into the trees at a run.

Juugo stopped him. "Sasuke, wait! Whoever that was before, is gone. I've seen that kind of behavior before. People who couldn't handle the curse mark mentally snapped in some way. Whoever that was, there mind has snapped. She is only relying on instinct. You can't treat her the same way, she won't know who you are."

Taking heed of Juugo's warning, Sasuke shot into the trees after the blond jinchuriki, all the while wondering what could cause Naru's mind to snap and why he cared so much.

Back in the clearing Karin was fuming with jealousy. What was so special about that ugly blond bitch? She was using that to hide her trembling, though. The feel of that demonic chakra was the most terrifying thing she had ever come across. It was even worse than Juugo when he lost control or even some of Orochimaru's more worse experiments.

XxXxx

Sasuke chased after his teammate, actually having to try when catching up to her. He never remembered her being this fast, even when they fought at the Valley of the End. Unfortunately, with Naru in this state she knew the forest better and kept taking sudden twists and turns that kept him from going full speed. He had a lot of questions running through his head but he pushed them aside until he caught his wayward ex-teammate.

Naru swerved around another tree and ended up in a small clearing. She turned and growled at Sasuke, her red eyes glaring at him, as she got into a crouching position. The tugging feeling had directed her to this man but one look at his strange red eyes and something else inside of her made her run.

Sasuke wasn't far behind her and got into a stance that was both offensive and defensive. The two stared each other down with red eyes, neither moving a muscle.

Naru moved to attack first. She dug her feet into the ground and launched herself forward, hands extended in front of her to swipe at him with her sharp claws. Staying still until the last second, Sasuke jumped out of the way of her attack only to suddenly go on the defensive when she kept coming at him with a punch or kick. Her movements were sporadic and hard to predict even with the help his sharingan provided. Thanks to his training he was able to dodge but one of her quicker and more unpredictable attacks caught him on the arm, her claws tearing his shirt and breaking the skin, causing blood to flow from his arm.

Naru froze when she smelt the blood of the man before her. It was slightly familiar and when she brought her hand to her face to smell the blood her eyes widened and the first conscious thought passed through Naru's broken mind. _Sasuke._

She made a yelping sound and jumped away from him, once more resorting back to her instinct. The only thing she knew was that the man in front of her was powerful and she didn't stand much of a chance seeing as she didn't know the full extent of her abilities, only that the one in front of her was a cause for some of her pain. Her thoughts were cut short when he jumped at her, knocking her to the ground.

Sasuke watched as Naru seemingly froze when she caught sight of his blood. He watched her curiously as she sniffed the blood on her claws and made a strangled yelping sound. When she jumped away and watched him with more caution he came to the conclusion that even with her mind as it was now she recognized the scent of his blood.

Deciding to act on her temporary distraction, he jumped at her and tackled her to the ground. He landed on top of her, straddling her waist with his hands pinning her arms to her sides. She didn't stay still for long, though he hadn't expected her to, and started struggling. She bucked her hips and jerked her head forward to head-butt him in the nose but when she only banged her head on his chin she pulled back and growled while snapping her teeth at the nearest part of him.

Sasuke smirked while deactivating his sharingan. He had noticed her reaction to his eyes but even with her mind like this she was still easily irritated. His amusement didn't last when she managed to wiggle her arm free enough to dig her claws into his arm deep and hard. He winced slightly and hissed but refused to let go.

Naru was quickly getting frustrated and in her desperation slumped and whined. She bared her neck in a show of submission and hoped he would take the bait.

Sasuke recognized the signs of submission and eyed the blond kitsune underneath him warily. Naru never gave up, especially not that quickly and that would never change no matter the state of her mind. Deciding to play along but never dropping his guard he loosened his hold on her arms only to be tackled onto his back with Naru in the position he was in before. She hissed at him and jumped off. She turned to run again but Sasuke used speed gained by years of training to get back on his feet and in front of her before she could get to far into the trees.

He used his body to slam her into a nearby tree and grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the tree. He was using his body weight to pin her down and since he was heavier by far, it was succeeding. He tightened his grip and looked down at what his teammate had been turned into. Now that he was up close he could see the tears in her clothes and bruises on certain parts of her body that let him know exactly what had happened to her. He grit his teeth in frustration and anger as he started to feel what he had suppressed years ago. He wasn't supposed to care! He had severed his bonds to everyone in the village including the struggling girl beneath him. Yet knowing that someone had tried to rape Naru in her own village set off something in him that had his sharingan activating again subconsciously. He turned his attention back to Naru when she started whimpering, proving how far into herself she had retreated.

Naru couldn't take it. Sasuke, as she knows him to be in her state and was proven when she saw the sharingan, was beating her at every turn. Again! She tried to hold it in but a few whimpers escaped as she futilely pushed back. She kept getting frustrated and the more she was the harder and faster she twisted in his hold. She soon jerked her hands free and shoved Sasuke away and shot through the forest, knowing running was her last option. She could hear him swear and his footsteps that were quickly catching up to hers and increased her speed as much as she could.

Sasuke cursed when Naru slipped away again. He shot through the forest after her and quickly caught up to her. Getting annoyed with her constant escapes, Sasuke bit his thumb and summoned three long, thin snakes. He sent them at her and watched as one shot out and wrapped around her leg, tripping her in the process. The snake coiled around her legs, effectively tying them as the smallest wrapped around both of her forearms as soon as she hit the ground. By wrapping around her forearms the snake tied her up in a way where she couldn't use her hands and therefore claws. The last snake wrapped around her upper legs and thighs, keeping her from using her legs at all to run or attack. When the snakes had her sufficiently tied Sasuke performed another jutsu that turned the snakes into rope that was enforced with his chakra, making it near impossible to escape from.

Naru roared in anger at being caught. She thrashed pitifully on the ground until Sasuke walked over and stood over her form. She stilled and glared up at him. "I don't know why I'm bothering to help you or if you can even register what I am saying, but welcome to Team Hebi."

With that he knelt down and sent his chakra into a point on her neck that knocked her unconscious and tossed her over his shoulder. He jumped into the trees to make his way back to the rest of his team, already preparing for the screeching that will come from a certain female.

XxXxX

"Sasuke-kun, why do you have that blond bitch with you?" _I thought you went off to kill her,_ Karin added mentally. Sasuke had just jumped down from the trees with the blond girl tied up and unconscious on his shoulder. He had handled her more gently than Karin had seen him handle anything and was immediately jealous.

Sasuke ignored her and placed Naru's unconscious form against the base of a tree, aware of the eyes of his teammates on him. When he turned around to look at them he saw Suigetsu looking at Naru with obvious lust in his eyes and his jaw tightened in anger as he stepped protectively in front of his blond. His mind, for once, was racing so much that he didn't realize he had referred to Naru as his. He opened his mouth to tell his team of the situation when Karin decided to but in.

"Sasuke-kun! What did that bimbo do to you?" Karin screeched when she caught sight of his arm.

Looking at his arm Sasuke saw that it was still bleeding from the wounds Naru had managed to inflict on him. Suigetsu laughed.

"Man, that girl must be good to land a hit hard enough to make_ you_ bleed. I like her already."

"Sasuke, what are we going to do with her?"

Sasuke looked at Juugo, who had asked the magic question that got Karin and Suigetsu to shut up. Sighing inaudibly Sasuke told them. "Her name is Naru Uzumaki and from here on out she has officially joined the team and is not to be treated as a prisoner or servant." The last part was directed at Karin and everyone knew it.

Suigetsu stared at Sasuke curiously, recognizing her name from the bridge in Wave. "How do you know her?" he asked, wanting a confirmation.

"She was on my genin team when I was in the leaf village. Anything else?"

When Karin opened her mouth Sasuke sighed. "Whatever it is you want to do or to happen to her will not happen Karin." She closed her mouth angrily. Sasuke ignored her. "When she wakes up she is probably going to attack anyone so do not provoke her. She is strong and can hurt you." Not that he would say that when she could understand what he was saying.

Taking the signal that he was done talking, everyone turned to do their own thing occasionally glancing at the newcomer. Sasuke sat beside Naru to ward off Karin and to gather his thoughts. He had to find a way to keep her with the team and not go off running. He can't afford to go after her every time with Itachi still on the loose. He searched through everything Orochimaru had taught him and after a few minutes of nothing he was getting frustrated. Then he remembered.

After being with Orochimaru for one year he had taught him some seals that would be useful. There was one seal that he has to draw in blood on a person and enforce with chakra that acts as a collar. It helps when you have a prisoner but can't afford to tie them up due to the situation. The seal responds to the chakra of the person who created it and if Naru wondered off too far all he had to do was flare his chakra and she would stop. If she started fighting he could connect a chakra string to her and pull her away or he could pull her in the direction he wanted to go. All in all, it was perfect.

Deciding that the seal would be the best option he got on his knees beside her and laid Naru on the ground on her stomach. Aware of the eyes of his teammates on him Sasuke moved her hair off of her neck and pulled her jacket away. He bit his thumb and started drawing the seal on the nape of her neck. When the symbol was on her he put his palm over it and pushed his chakra into it to finalize it. When he pulled his hand away the seal was on her neck. Testing it out, Sasuke flared his chakra and it glowed.

Satisfied with the results he returned to her to her previous position on the tree, ignoring his team. Now he thought back to why he would care about her. He had severed the bond he had with everyone, yet for some reason he went after Naru and fought her without going all out. When nothing came to mind he just chalked it up to his protectiveness he had had for her and Sakura when they were genin returning.

Turning his eyes to his new teammate he saw her eyelids fluttering. She was waking up. _Lets see what the fox will do._

XxXxX

When Naru opened her eyes the first things she saw aside from the forest were three strangers staring at her. One was a female with red hair and eyes, short black shorts and a tight purple top. She had unfriendly eyes but Naru saw the fear in them. The last two were male. One was freakishly tall with orange hair and eyes wearing a long cloak-like thing. He seemed different from the other two, nicer in a way, and she knew she shouldn't fear any trouble or pain from him. The last man however, had white chin length hair and purple eyes that traveled her body, practically undressing her with a single look. She made the decision to stay away from him or he would lose some very vital body parts.

She assessed them all in about two seconds and when she noticed she was bound she growled and her red eyes searched for the one she knew to be responsible all the while testing the strength of the rope.

She heard movement to her right and snapped her head around to see Sasuke pushing himself off the tree beside her and moving to kneel in front of her. She never stopped growling and when he settled himself in front of her she bared her teeth.

He was like that for awhile. Staying still while she would do what ever she could to scare him off while trying to working her hands and feet free. When he had stayed still enough that she decided to take her eyes off of him and to the rope she could see signs of chakra enforcing it. She summoned her own chakra and sent it to the rope and snarled when she heard the female talk.

"Sasuke, she's using chakra."

With out taking his eyes off his teammate Sasuke grunted his reply. He already knew that when she couldn't break the rope with her strength alone that she would use her chakra to cut it. Instead he stared into her red eyes. They were wild and scared and full of pain, something he hadn't noticed before. He never wanted to see that look in eyes that should never have it in the first place.

Testing her limits he shifted forward and watched her shrink into the tree and bare her teeth at him. Taking the fact that she wasn't growling anymore as a good sign, he lifted his hand up slowly, prepared for anything she might do.

She eyed his hand warily and when Sasuke had it close to her face she snarled and bit his hand. He showed no reaction to the pain of her fangs, just kept moving his hand slowly towards her. He watched her eyes widen and flinch back away from his hand but he didn't stop until his hand was on her trembling cheek. He kept still for a few agonizing minutes but knew this needed to be done so she would at least trust him to not hurt her.

Her eyes constantly went from his face to his hand. When she stopped trembling so hard he slowly moved his hand down the side of her neck, all the while keeping eye contact. She started whimpering as his hand reached her throat but stopped as his hand went to her shoulder and followed her arm to her bound wrists. He saw her eyes narrow when he slowly started to undo the rope. As it fell away she rubbed her wrists and stopped growling but she didn't take her eyes off him.

He brought up his other hand and she hissed but he paid her no mind. He moved both hands to the rope tying her thighs together and unwound it from her. Lastly, he untied her calves and sat across from her, looking relaxed but in reality he was ready to fight her again if he had to.

When he looked to Naru he saw her glancing nervously around the clearing. When her eyes narrowed and a rumble sounded in her chest he sighed silently.

"Karin. Suigetsu. Leave to find clues of Itachi's whereabouts and don't return unless you have something. Juugo, you may join them or stay here."

He was unsurprised when Karin put up a fit but he couldn't take his eyes off of Naru to glare at her. Instead he did a growl exactly like Naru to both scare Naru a little bit so she wouldn't leave and to show Karin that he wasn't taking any of her shit today. Karin actually shrunk back in fear of the sound and went off without complaint with Juugo and Suigetsu.

When Naru heard Sasuke's growl, her own bubbled up in her chest. He was trying to gain dominance over her. When the other three left she relaxed only a little. Sasuke was stronger than her so she couldn't let down her guard. If he wanted something from her he would most likely be able to get it but not without her fighting him all the way.

When Sasuke was sure they were gone he grabbed Naru's hand and pulled her up, noticing that she didn't flinch away from his touch. His idea worked. He untied her the way he did so she would trust him a bit and so she wouldn't flinch away from his touch.

He pulled her to the middle of the clearing and let her go. He backed up a few steps and waited for her to run, fight, or stay. What she did now was the decider for what he was going to do.

Naru was weighing her options. She knew he was up to something with giving her the option to run or fight but the question was, why? Why go through the task of catching her, only to deliberately give her the option to run away?

Making her mind to at least try to get away she focused chakra to her legs. She stared into Sasuke's eyes and when he blinked, she took off. She shot into the trees but only got a few yards away when she suddenly bumped into an invisible wall. She righted herself and stuck a hand forward only to meet resistance that kept her from moving it further. She felt something tugging her back to the clearing and when she resisted it yanked her so hard that she fell to the ground and it started to actually drag her along.

She managed to grab on to a tree and when she looked to where she felt the tug she saw chakra strings connected to her neck and back that led to the clearing. She saw red as she was dragged and finally broke through the trees and saw the devil himself staring at her with a blank face, one hand outstretched and making the chakra strings.

Stumbling up, she pounced at him. Sasuke was expecting her to do that, though, and stepped to the side while bringing his elbow down on her neck. He didn't really want to hurt her but he had to do this to keep her with him.

From what he knew about K-9's is that, when they are wild, the only way to control a female is to claim them and assert their dominance. They had to fight the female into submission and claim them as their's (I'm making this up, don't know if this is what it is really like with dogs). That part was what had him hesitating just the slightest. Should he claim her as his own? Did he want to? Would she hate him when she finally returned to her right mind for claiming her? His chest hurt when he thought of her hating him but when he turned his attention back to Naru's whimpering form on the ground he made his decision.

He reached down and grabbed the collar of her shirt and yanked her roughly to her feat. He pulled his other arm back and slammed his fist into her gut and as she doubled over, he slammed his fist into the back of her head. By now she was whimpering and whining and trying her hardest to get away but she couldn't catch her breath from the punch to her abdomen and her head was hurting so badly that she couldn't see straight. Sasuke wasn't giving her time to recover though, and kicked her in the side, not hard enough to break bones but hard enough for her to scream as she was tossed onto her back.

He again dragged her to her feet. He grabbed her arm and flung her back into a tree and put one hand on her shoulder, holding her still an up. He brought his other hand up in a fist. He waited until she looked at him before he punched her in the chest. She coughed hard and he punched her again in the jaw, letting her fall to the ground.

He stared down at her and rolled her onto her back. Her straddled her waist and pinned her wrists beside her head when she tried to fight back. She stared up at him with slightly defiant eyes that held a bit of fear in them. So she seemed to know what he was trying to do and was only barely able to fight back. To rid her of her last bit of defiance he growled, one that put her own to shame, and lowered his head until his mouth was at her throat. He opened his mouth and bit her throat gently.

Her eyes widened in fear as she whimpered pitifully. He saw the defeated look in her eyes as she slumped and bared her neck in actual submission. He didn't allow himself to fell guilty as he moved his head back off her neck. He was doing this to keep her safe and now that he has thought about it, claiming her as his doesn't seem so bad because he feels something for her, he just doesn't know what. And if his team needed an excuse, he would say that since she's a jinchuriki, Itachi would be after her so even if they can't find him, Itachi will eventually come to them.

He lowered his mouth back to her neck and pressed his lips to it in a gentle kiss to calm her when she flinched. He opened his mouth and slowly licked the skin to keep her calm. When she stopped trembling he suddenly bit into the skin of her neck, sinking his teeth in and drawing blood. He swallowed, ignoring the metallic taste and sucked slightly. To finalize his claim he forced his chakra into the cut, binding her to him.

He pulled away and saw the cut form a small tattoo-like mark in the shape of his family crest. He sat up and pulled Naru's weakened form against him. He pulled the collar of his shirt away from his neck and put her face at the place where his neck met his shoulder. He waited for her to bite him and push her chakra into him as well and when she pulled away he pushed her off him and started healing her from the few jutsu Kabuto taught him.

He used the time he spent healing her to get her to relax at his touch again. He placed his hands at vulnerable parts of her body and gently healed her and kept his hand in place until she relaxed.

When she was healed and calm he gathered her up in his arms and leaned back against a tree, Naru tucked against his chest. He started running his hand up and down her back as he thought over what just happened and to his surprise she actually started to purr. Continuing to run his hands across her back he thought of how he could bring his teammate back to her right state of mind. His sharingan allowed him to enter peoples mind at will but he has only heard it to be done to destroy a person, not heal them. Plus he didn't feel like a confrontation with the Kyuubi right now...wait, the Kyuubi! He could contact the fox and get him to tell him how to heal her mind.

Deciding to begin as soon as possible he got Naru's attention. He put his hand under her chin and activated his sharingan as his eyes met her own red ones. He felt himself entering her mind and only prayed that his idea would work.


	2. Chapter 2

When Sasuke opened his in Naru's mind he didn't know what to expect but what he saw was beyond what he thought possible.

_It was absolute carnage._

Cracks ran along the sewer walls he remembered from the last time he was in her mind. He once again wondered if her mind was a sewer because of the Kyuubi or from her childhood. If it was the latter, what could possibly have happened to her to make her mind like this? Pushing those thoughts aside he observed his surroundings.

In some places there was no wall at all and other parts of the walls were crumbling and falling. It was eerily silent and he made his way down the halls towards the demon foxes cage, only the sound of his breathing and the splash of water as parts of the walls fell. As he turned a corner, a large portion of it suddenly broke and started falling. He jumped out of the way and saw a flash of red coming at him out of the corner of his eye. Dodging, he realized that it was some of Kyuubi's chakra and that it wasn't headed for him but the broken part of the wall. The chakra stopped the falling debris and wrapped around the wall, acting like glue, holding the broken pieces together. Looking around he saw waves of red chakra traveling along the walls and holding them together. _That explains why she has so much access to the foxes chakra. With this much of it moving freely around her mind she has easy access to it._

"**You gonna stand there the whole time or get in here, idiot boy."**

The sudden appearance of Kyuubi's voice in the dark silence that had enveloped the sewer was such a shock that Sasuke jumped. Instead of commenting, he just walked down the hall and into the doorway that led to the demons cage.

Standing in front of the bars that held back the most powerful demon in existence, Sasuke held back the shiver that threatened to travel down his spine. He met the red eyes full of blood lust and rage. The monster truly was terrifying and once again Sasuke silently admired Naru for being able to stand this thing.

He tensed when a jet of chakra suddenly shot out, but watched as it went by him and out into Naru's mind scape. Raising his eyes back to the fox, Sasuke decided to get this meeting over with. "You most likely know why I am here."

"**You want to know what you need to do to heal her mind, am I right?"**

"Yes."

"**You have no **_**idea **_**what you're getting yourself into. Are you sure you want to help her? After all,"** the fox chuckled,** " you have only tried to kill her time and time again."**

Sasuke briefly closed his eyes. "I want to help her."

The fox stared at him silently and Sasuke started to get worried. What if the fox won't help him? How will he help Naru?

"**Very well. I take it you only bothered to learn how to destroy minds with your sharingan?"**

He tried everything to keep the relief off his face as he answered. "Yes."

"**I sometimes wonder who is more of a demon when it comes to you ninjas. Use your eyes to gently dig into her mind until you find her memories. This didn't just happen because of that ink idiot tried to rape her. The events of her childhood that were painful enough were locked away and all of those experiences that built up, caused this. That boy was just what caused her to snap. You need to find her in each memory and help her through it. Guide her out of it, comfort her, and help her** **through each memory. With each memory you go through, the more stable her mind will become."**

The fox started chuckling and Sasuke almost dreaded asking why. "What is so funny and why are you suddenly so interested in your hosts' well being?"

The fox continued to laugh to itself for a while before relenting. **"Just the ****fact that you are going to have one hell of a life with her as your mate. The longer she is like this the more permanent some of her changes will be. Oh, and while you may have gotten her submission once don't count on it to stay. The girl is a hellcat. There is also the fact that she has so much of my chakra that she gained some of my rarer abilities."**

The Kyuubi stopped talking as he was suddenly overcome with laughter. Even in his hosts situation it was still hilarious to think of the Uchiha brats reaction to the certain _ability_ she gained.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had frozen as soon as he heard the fox utter the word mate. He was half-listening to the demon kitsune while his thoughts were racing. Had he somehow claimed Naru as his mate? How? The only thing he could think of was when he bit her neck. Sasuke almost blew his stoic mask and smacked himself on the head. A males way of claiming its female was by biting them on the neck, leaving their mark. When he bit Naru he was claiming her and she bit him in return. The only thought he had was that Naru was going to be pissed when she was back in her right mind. His thoughts were racing so much hat he almost missed it when the Kyuubi talked about Naru gaining new abilities. Almost.

"What kind of new abilities are you talking about?"

"**Oh, I'm not going to ruin the surprise. It's for you to find out but it shouldn't be long now before it happens."**

Sasuke narrowed his eyes but knew that that was all he was going to get. "How long should it take to go through all of her memories?"

"**I'd say about a few days if you can stomach more than one memory a day. A week or longer if you can't. Some of the things that have happened to her are cruel even by my standards."**

Sasuke frowned. If the fox even thought they were cruel then what on earth had Naru gone through in the leaf village? Nevertheless, he would try to get through them as quick as possible. He had already stalled his progress on finding Itachi. With a nod to the fox, Sasuke closed his eyes and withdrew from Naru's mind.

XxXxX

Sasuke came out of Naru's mind and let the silent girl go. He knew what he needed to do now but was hesitant to do so. If the fox thought they were cruel and the memories caused her to become like this then he was anxious about seeing her memories and helping her through them.

He looked down at said girl and saw she had fallen into a restless sleep on his lap. Her brow was furrowed and her mouth was pulled down into a frown. Every now and then a whimper would be released. Comparing this to the smiles he was so used to seeing made him wonder how many of those grins were fake. How many times had Naru been hurt by those bastards and come to them the next day as if nothing ever happened?

Sasuke closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath to calm himself down. Naru had to be exhausted from her ordeal and she needed to rest. He opened his eyes again and stared down at her. The Kyuubi said she would gain new abilities due to her constant use of his chakra, but the frustrating demon refused to answer.

Another thing was the fact that he had unknowingly claimed her as his mate. Surprisingly, he didn't fell any negative feelings about that. Thinking back to all of their time together when they were younger, he only ever tolerated Naru out of all of the girls in their year-minus Hinata. She was his equal in strength and determination and they have been rivals all their lives. He grew protective over her when they were placed on the same team and almost never let her out of his sight. He cared for her more than he did anyone else and respected her more than the Hokage and even Kakashi. She was the only one who knew how painful his childhood was.

He winced as his thoughts traveled to their pain. When they fought at the Valley of the End, he had accused her of not knowing the pain he felt from losing his family and not having the need to get revenge on anyone. From what the fox told him their positions were reversed. He didn't understand the pain of her past, not the other way around.

While he was thinking, he had reached up and started running his fingers through her hair and holding her to his chest. That was the scene Juugo, Karin, and Suigetsu came back to. Juugo smiled softly because he could tell Sasuke loved the girl. Suigetsu pouted because Sasuke always got the hot girls. Karin on the other hand was seeing red. That blond bitch had done something to _her_ Sasuke. She knew it! She was going to beat the crap out of the girl and Sasuke will finally see that she is the only girl for him.

"Sasuke! What has the bimbo done to you?"

Two sets of crimson eyes immediately met the jealous red eyes of Karin. Sasuke's eyes narrowed in anger and Naru let out a ferocious growl in pain and anger. She hated the stupid red head and wanted to kill her. Her body was reacting to her thoughts and she jumped off of Sasuke as she felt her body changing. Her hands and feet turned into paws, her ears went to the top of her head, her face lengthened into a muzzle, fur sprouted all over her body and a stinging sensation appeared at her tail bone. She dropped to all fours and growled.

In Naru's place was a fox. Only this fox was an orange-red and stood about the height of Sasuke's waist. Nine long tails whipped behind her. As she growled she revealed several long, white, and sharp teeth and they could see her claws were just as sharp. Naru's red eyes remained but now they had a yellow tint around the pupils and were fixed straight on Karin.

Naru noticed that the girl and the boys behind her were staring at her in shock but she only had eyes for the red headed bitch who annoyed her so much. In a flash of orange-blond fur Naru had pounced at the unsuspecting girl. She dug her claws into her shoulders and bit at her neck. Karin screamed and tried to push her off but only made her claws slash down her chest and arm.

Sasuke watched his teammate with shocked eyes. When the fox said she would gain new abilities, turning into a fox never once crossed his mind. Karin's pain filled screams made him realize that as much as he hated the girl, he couldn't let Naru kill her.

Standing up he ran over to her and grabbed the scruff of her neck. He pulled her up and away from Karin, grunting as she struggled to get back to her. When she almost got free, Sasuke swore and sent a current of lightning through her. Her body jolted and went still as she lost consciousness. She started shrinking to the size of a normal fox and her nine tails blended into one as she went limp. Holding her new form in his arms, Sasuke turned to a bleeding Karin who was looking at him with tearful eyes.

"S-Sasuke! See w-what it d-did to m-me? We n-need to g-get rid of her!"

Any chance Karin had of Sasuke helping her evaporated when she called Naru an 'it'. Sasuke's eyes turned colder than they already were and Karin flinched back in fear as she tried to stop the bleeding.

"Suigetsu, take Karin away and wrap her wounds _only_. Go." Suigetsu grimaced but picked up Karin and took her out of the clearing. Sasuke took slow, but deep breathes to calm down before turning to Juugo. "Juugo, what news do you have?"

Juugo looked from the fox that Sasuke was cradling gently in his arms to meet his eyes. "We have a lead on where Itachi might be."

Sasuke listened carefully to Juugo. He was the only one in his group that he actually liked and Sasuke knew he could trust him. Juugo told him how some animals told him where some Akatsuki hideouts are and how to get to them. When Juugo was finished giving his report Sasuke went to the fire in the middle of their camp and got some of the meat from their meal yesterday. Holding Naru in one hand and the meat in the other he sat down against a tree. He placed Naru down in his lap and stroked her smooth fur. He gently shook the little fox and waited as she woke up.

He would never admit it but watching her in her fox form wake up was actually quite cute. Her nose and eyes scrunched up and her tail fluffed up. It only lasted a second though, before her eyes snapped open and she hissed at him. She started struggling and bit his hand to get loose. Sasuke jerked his hand back and scowled at the little fox that had jumped in front of him. He held up the hand that had the meat and shook it in front of her.

"Do you want to eat or not?"

He watched as she eyed the meat and took a step closer before she looked at him and stopped. He held the meat beside his head and waited for her to come to him. She stared at him again before jumping from his leg to his shoulder. She wrapped her tail around his throat, not restricting, as she climbed around his head towards his hand. She nosed the hand that had the meat and made a whining sound. Relenting, he let her eat the meat from his hand.

When she had finished, she looked at him. They stared into each others eyes for a few minutes before Naru licked his cheek and jumped into his lap. He stared at the place where Naru had been perched in surprise at the affectionate action. When he felt her nudge his hand he looked down to see her licking the bite mark on his hand. When she was done she curled up in his lap and looked at him. He looked back and sighed. He started to scratch her behind her ear and his lips twitched when she closed her eyes and started to purr. When she was back in her right mind he so wasn't going to let her live this down. That made him frown. What will happen when she is back to normal?

Across the camp Juugo sat quietly, watching his leader. He could tell by looking in Sasuke's usually blank eyes. He cared for this girl, maybe even loved her. Throughout all the time he has known him he never showed any positive emotions to anyone. This girl, Naru, hasn't even been with them for a day and already Sasuke is more relaxed and, not happy, but calm, even if it is only to himself and the girl. He rather liked this new Sasuke than the old one and he won't let Karin ruin that. The girl needs to give up and see that Sasuke will only ever choose this girl and no one else.

A nudge on his hand startled him and he looked to see the girl in her fox form looking at him curiously. He must have been so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed her leave Sasuke's side. Looking up Juugo silently asked Sasuke permission. It took a while and he hid his amusement. It seems Sasuke has a possessive side. Eventually he nodded and Juugo slowly raised his hand to Naru's head. Placing his finger tips on her head near her ear he started scratching. Naru closed her eyes and rubbed herself against his hand before climbing in his lap and laying down. Moving his hand from her head to her back her marveled at the silky quality of her fur as it slid between his fingers. The moment was ruined however, when Suigetsu and Karin came back, the latter's arms and neck covered in bandages that were already slightly red. Karin took one look at the fox in his lap before a devious gleam came in her eyes.

"Sasuke, see? She's nothing but a harlot! Even as a flea-brained animal she is flocking from man to man!"

Unfortunately for Karin, what she thought would make Sasuke get rid of the blond girl only made her placement on this team even more precarious.

Sasuke seemed to finally snap. His sharingan was activated and spinning so quickly the commas blended together. Karin's smile faded as she realized that she somehow pushed Sasuke over the edge. Even Suigetsu was backing away from her.

"_Karin_." Sasuke growled. "The only reason you are here is because of your ability to sense chakra from long distances. You are not here to fight among the others, flirt with me, or attack _anyone_ that has my seal on their body. The _harlot_ as you so called Naru, has my mark and the demon fox lurking within her mind says that it means _she_ belongs to _me_. Now the second I find someone who can detect someone from a long distance, will be the second you are out of my sight. Now shut up and do not say one more thing or I will put you in my most painful genjutsu and leave you here."

By the end of Sasuke's little speech Karin was in tears. She turned away and sat against a tree with her back towards them, not making a sound. Throughout the whole ordeal Naru never moved except for a twitch or two from her ears.

XxXxX

Sad emerald eyes stared out the window of the wooden house Yamato had made. Sakura wasn't the only one who was sad. Barely anyone was talking. Naru's situation had them all down and she just had that... presence about her that helped them relax. Without her it was just sad, tense, and silent.

She scanned the woods around her, already knowing she wouldn't find any traces of her friend. They had completely lost her trail. Kiba said that she smelled like a fox and her scent got lost in the forest with all the other animals. They now had no idea where she was and no way to find her. All their hopes were down.

Turning away from the window she observed everyone's faces. Yamato and Kakashi looked sad but it seemed they were discussing what they should do now. They were probably trying to keep themselves occupied so they wouldn't think of Naru. Ino was leaning against Choji just staring at the floor. Shikamaru was sitting with his back against Choji's and both of them were just watching everyone else. Hinata was laying with her head in Neji's lap and was silently crying while Neji stroked her hair. Tenten, Lee, Kiba, and Shino were sitting near them.

As Sakura looked at them she felt her eyes water. First she had lost Sasuke, then Naru, because someone she had grown to trust had tried to rape her. As she thought of Sai – if that was even his real name - she felt fury and loathing on a level that beat anyone else.

She didn't just loathe him though, she hated herself. She still couldn't do anything for Naru. She was always protected and even when she trained hard she still couldn't do it. She couldn't help but feel it was her fault that Sai got as far as he did. If she had just been stronger then maybe she could have helped her.

A hand on her shoulder made Sakura realize she was crying. Wiping furiously at her eyes she looked up to see Shikamaru. "What is it?"

He just scanned her face and sighed. "It's not your fault."

"But-"

"_No._"

His eyes were stern as her sat down beside her. Seeing Shikamaru – lazy and rarely motivated for anything, Shikamaru – so serious made Sakura keep her mouth shut.

"I know you, Sakura, and I know what you are thinking right now but this is _not _your fault. It's Sai's fault that this happened but it is also all of ours." He knew he was being cold but they all needed to come to terms with this. He knew his last comment had gotten everyone's attention. "We couldn't see the pain Naru felt and we were even a cause of it when we were younger. We also didn't bother to help her. It is as much our fault as it is Sai's. He was just the breaking point for years of pain."

Sakura slowly started crying again as she heard the truth in his words. Shikamaru pulled her into a hug as he let her cry. Being Naru's teammate made his words all the more true because of how close they were but he knew it wasn't them who had caused Naru the most pain. It was Sasuke. He was her first real friend and he betrayed her and shoved his hand through her chest. Looking around he could tell that everyone but Tenten, Ino, Hinata, and Sakura realized it.

Shikamaru looked over Sakura's head and out into the woods beyond. Determination not usually seen shown in his brown eyes._ Wherever you are Naru, we will find you and make sure you are safe. I promise._

XxXxX

Sasuke had moved his team. They had stayed in one place to long so he had them pack up and get moving in the direction of one of the Akatsuki hideouts. Naru seemed to have developed a liking for her fox form for she hadn't changed back. She also seemed to enjoy getting on his nerves but she was always able to do that. When they had been getting ready to set off she had disappeared and he had almost lost it until he saw her watching him from where she had curled up in his bag. He didn't like her being out of his sight for any period of time.

Now she was nestled in between his neck and shoulder as he ran. Her soft tail was wrapped around his throat to help her hold on and she occasionally started pawing or gnawing on his hair. He didn't know what her deal was with his hair but it was really annoying. He didn't do anything though. She wasn't fighting him again or trying to escape and if playing with his hair allowed that to continue then he would allow it.

He was also glad that he was able to travel in silence for once. The ripping he had given Karin and the beating by Naru seemed to have finally knocked Karin off her high horse. He couldn't wait until he found someone who could take her place.

"Guys, split up and find any sign that Itachi is near this hideout. Karin, east, Juugo, south, Suigetsu, west. I'll take the north."

Once again he was glad that he had taken care of Karin because he saw her eyes narrow when she realized he had no intention of leaving Naru. They all went off to their destinations with only a small protest from Suigetsu. He absentmindedly reached up to scratch Naru behind her ears as he went on his way.

It was about twenty minutes after they split up that Sasuke felt a change in Naru. Her fur stood on end and her ears flicked towards the right. It was when she started growling and unwinding her tail that he realized what was going on.

Apparently Naru could her from long distances and heard someone coming this way that she didn't like. She started to jump off his shoulder and his hand snapped out and grabbed the scruff of her neck. She was hissing and spitting, trying to get out of his hold, by the time he held her in front of his face.

He wanted to see how far her hearing went. It took about five to ten minutes for the people Karin sensed to reach them but if it took near enough to that time for this person to come then he had just found Karin's replacement. He placed Naru in his arms and held her still while he waited for the threat to arrive. While he waited, he rubbed Naru's back to calm her down. It worked, since she stopped trying to run but her ears never stopped flicking in the same direction. It took him awhile but he realized there was a pattern. Every few seconds her ear would twitch was consistent, always happening with the same time span. It was steady and it reminded Sasuke of a heartbeat or the flapping of a birds wings.

He let his thoughts wander to what he had to do regarding his teammate. He shouldn't have left Naru like this for so long and he needed to start on fixing her mind before she got any worse. He had postponed long enough but he hadn't been anywhere safe enough for him to go into her mind without the worry of being attacked. Also, if he were honest with himself, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see Naru's memories.

Ten minutes later had Sasuke nervous and excited. He had a replacement for Karin, for one, but Naru had changed back to her human form and was constantly moving in the direction the threat was coming from. It was only the seal on her neck that kept her from charging off. If she changed back to her human form than the threat must be serious.

He heard the flapping about a minute later. The steady _thump, thump_ of giant wings was hard to miss. It was only when he had to reach out and bring Naru behind him that he saw a flash of black, red, and yellow.

Looking up he saw a blond man who kind of looked like Ino on top of what looked like a clay bird. That wasn't what caught his eye though. What did was the Akatsuki cloak. Tightening his grip on Naru he activated his sharingan.

"_Akatsuki._"

XxXxX

It had been a sad and tense night for the others. The morning showed no change in the behavior. It was only because of Hinata that anything changed at all. The normally quiet teen had taken one look at the desolated faces and snapped.

"_Enough_! Enough of this! We lost her trail, so now we just sit and mope? We should be thinking of ways to find her, not sitting here and sulking!"

Everyone stared in shock at the usually quiet and meek teen. None of them could ever remember hearing Hinata raise her voice, let alone full out yell. Neji spoke up first, speaking calmly, so as not to rile his cousin any further.

"What do you suggest?"

Hinata stood at the edge of the room, her pale lavender eyes glaring with unusual ferocity. She turned to her teammate. "Kiba, what did Naru smell like before you lost her?"

Kiba tensed against Akamaru's side, but answered. "Her scent was slowly changing to something like a foxes, but not completely."

Hinata nodded. "Her scent was lost near the river to the north, right?"

Kiba nodded. "There was a fox den that she had passed and her scent mingled with theirs. That's how I lost her."

Hinata turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei, your nin-hounds couldn't find any trace of her scent on the other side of the river, right?"

Kakashi nodded, still shocked at seeing Hinata take control.

"Did they check the tree's?"

Everyone went silent. They hadn't thought of that. They had assumed that Naru had reverted to a more animal mind-set and stuck to the ground instead of the trees. But if she retained enough sense to know she could jump through them then she would have been able to move faster.

Kakashi and Kiba bolted outside, both of them going to the river only a few yards away and checking the trees for Naru's scent. A stunned silence was left behind and Hinata started blushing as she realized what she had just done.

"Oh..um..I'm sorry-"

Tenten laughed. "Don't be. That was amazing! How did you think of the tree's?"

Hinata kept blushing but her new-found confidence didn't waver. "I thought about what I knew of Naru when she lost control when using the foxes cloak. I realized that while her mind was lost, she still used some of the more physical abilities ninja use, like jumping through the trees or walking on water. After I realized that, I thought about the fact that if she knew she was being pursued, and retained enough of her knowledge to know that she was faster in the trees, that-"

"That she could hide her scent by water and other foxes." Shikamaru finished. Hinata nodded.

Kakashi and Kiba came back at that moment. By the broad grin on Kiba's face, they all knew they had her trail again. Everyone rushed to pack up, new hope giving them energy. It was only when they were finishing, that Neji saw the hawk. He recognized it as a messenger hawk and called everyone down. The hawk flew to Kakashi and he pulled the scroll off of it. It was a tense silence as Kakashi read the letter.

"Tsunade-sama says that intel has come in of Sasuke's whereabouts. It's in the same direction that Naru's scent goes."

Sakura stepped forward. "You think she found him?"

Shikamaru hummed. "It's most likely what she did. Remember, her trail kept zigzagging but went in the same direction."

Neji contributed. "She always seemed to know where he was, too, and had no trouble tracking him when given the chance."

Kakashi rolled up the scroll. "Sasuke must have taken Naru with him. We must also assume he has a lead on Itachi. We know our mission, we know what we're going into. Are we ready?"

Everyone straightened up. A collective, "Hai," went around the room.

Kakashi nodded. "Then lets go."

**I have not forgotten this story and I will try to have the next chapter up soon. Updates will be sporadic, because of all the ideas I have bouncing through my head. Next chapter won't be for awhile because I plan to go see Snow White and the Huntsman, and all the commercials are not helping me focus on typing.**


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